Brainstorming Good Affordable Southeastern Colleges (w/possible Design/Engingeering emphasis)

tristatecoog
Thu, 30 Dec 2021 20:13:34 +0000

Just a layman from Texas’ opinion if someone said my kid could pick any of these schools. I’d also compare endowment per student to get a sense of finances.

• Samford University – solid rep; conservative; draws from throughout South/SW; do they have design/architecture? 64% of entering freshmen from AL/GA/TN;TX and FL are #4 and #5 (14% of students). Decent mix. Quite Greek (30% of males; 70% females)

• Mercer University – #162 in National Universities; what are their offerings/placement record? Honors program?

• Berry College – #4 in the South; vast majority of football players come from Georgia; plays in SAA conference with Rhodes/Sewanee/Trinity; worth a look for jobs in ATL/Bham after graduation; $39M in scholarships/grants in 2020-21; has to compete with Hope Scholarship recipients in state; 65% grad rate in four years (solid) but only increases to 70% in six years; no engineering/architecture but has two 3/2 programs. They also have a 98% acceptance rate to medical school. 11:1 student/faculty ratio and 24% of alumni donate.

• Millsaps College – solid school in Jackson; would investigate; #114 in national LA colleges

Randolph-Macon College – #111 in national LA colleges
• Presbyterian College – #128 in national LA colleges
• Birmingham-Southern College – #128 Natl LA colleges

Queens University of Charlotte – #15 in the South; know someone who plays lax there but never heard of them before; I’d dig in more to validate. In Charlotte so may have decent regional recruiting.

• Shenandoah University – #263 National Universities; #251 Nursing

• Loyola University New Orleans – nice campus; recent financial difficulties

University of Lynchburg – seems solid for nursing and pre-health, well #432 in nation for BSN programs; #21 in the South; would put in bottom tier of your list

Public Universities
Do any have honors programs/colleges? I hear quite a bit of good stuff about App State and JMU on CC. Otherwise, LSU or another public like USC or UTenn would be solid if not too big for you. Rabid fan bases with at least statewide recruiting. The rest are going to be more regional, not statewide.